The Beach Boys Chart New Top 40s Following Brian Wilson’s Passing

For several weeks now, the music of the Beach Boys has been impacting charts around the world. The group’s catalog experienced a massive uptick in every form of consumption after news broke that founding member and musical legend Brian Wilson had passed away in mid-June.

In the United Kingdom, multiple albums by the Grammy-nominated group have returned to various charts, and this week, they even climb to never-before-seen peaks as sales and streams of everything connected to the California legends expanded.

Sounds of Summer Becomes a Top 40 Success

Among the three Beach Boys projects that appear on at least one albums chart in the U.K. this week, only Sounds of Summer – The Very Best Of manages to reenter and reach a new peak on several tallies. The compilation, which gathers many of the band’s most famous tunes, rockets from No. 90 to No. 32 on the Official Albums chart, the ranking of the most consumed full-lengths and EPs in the country. As it jumps nearly 60 spots, the singles-packed project reaches the top 40 for the first time, only eight weeks into its tenure on the list – but long after its original release.

Sounds of Summer also becomes a top 40 win on the Official Albums Streaming tally for the very first time. On that ranking, which looks only at a title’s total number of plays on platforms like Spotify, the Beach Boys compilation reenters at No. 32. It had previously spent just three weeks on the tally since debuting in mid-2020 and had not appeared on the list in nearly four years.

The same compilation can also be found on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Album Downloads charts. It just misses the top 40 on the former and dips from its all-time peak of No. 2 to third place on the downloads-only roster.

Pet Sounds Surges on Several Tallies

Pet Sounds — widely regarded as not only the most critically-acclaimed Beach Boys release but also one of the greatest musical projects of all time — rises to a new high of No. 18 on the Official Albums Sales chart this week. At the same time, it reenters both the Official Albums and Official Vinyl Albums tallies at Nos. 85 and 23, respectively.

Like Sounds of Summer, Pet Sounds also appears on the Official Album Downloads tally inside the top 10. It additionally surges from No. 81 to No. 28 on the Official Physical Albums ranking.

The Beach Boys Greatest Hits Compilation Keeps Going

Last week, Greatest Hits by The Beach Boys soared to No. 52 on the Official Album Downloads chart, as platforms like iTunes are typically where most fans go to purchase songs and full-lengths by artists who have just passed away. This frame, the compilation — which appears only on that one ranking — dips a handful of spaces to No. 52.